Educational Support & Local Resources

Looking for a list of events in Western Massachusetts that’s both fun & educational? Check our List of Weekly Suggested Events for a comprehensive list throughout Berkshire County, Franklin County, Hampden County, and Hampshire County, along with announcements, upcoming events, links, resources and the HFVS podcast. You can also subscribe to our weekly eNewsletter and get this bank of info sent to your inbox every Thursday, for free!

Below is a list of educational and local resources, offered as a courtesy. Categories include:

Advocates for Home Educatio/n in Massachusetts (AHEM) AHEM is a nonprofit, independent, grassroots, volunteer-run, educational organization that gathers and disseminates information about homeschooling in Massachusetts through education, advocacy, and events. We believe that informed and active homeschoolers are their own best advocates in maintaining the right to independently homeschool. We welcome and value the participation of anyone interested in homeschooling in Massachusetts.

THE GREEN TEAM is an interactive, environmental education program for Massachusetts schools—grades Pre-Kindergarten through 12—sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. THE GREEN TEAM empowers students and teachers to help the environment. Participants receive FREE educational resources—such as a classroom posters, lesson plans, and suggested activities — FREE recycling & composting bins, and FREE prizes at the end of the year including garden center gift cards and environmental performances. Teachers and parent volunteers can join today by registering online.

Home Education and Family Services
An on-line, full-time organization helping parents and families examine the wide range of choices available to educate their children at home. Our highly qualified staff of consultants and administrators has over five decades of experience with homeschooling and other forms of education.

Homeschool Support Groups in Massachusetts MHLA encourages homeschoolers to be part of a local MA homeschool support group in order to meet other homeschoolers who live nearby and share experiences of interacting with local school districts. As a service to the homeschooling community, MHLA maintains the following list containing contact information for homeschool support groups.

Nature Park (Pre-K – 2nd Grade) Activities that explore how children interact with nature through reading, drawing, and role-playing. (3rd and 5th Grade) Activities that explore how children interact with nature through reading, drawing, and role-playing. – North Adams, MA.

Pioneer Valley Homeschooling Group(K-12) An inclusive, eclectic support group for homeschooling families in western Massachusetts. All are welcome! Must request a password to access group.

Red Gate Farm Education Center Located in Buckland, MA, Red Gate Farm is is an educational farm providing programs about agriculture and the environment. Red Gate Farm is dedicated to educating people of all ages. While many of our spring and fall programs are for school-age children, there are also programs for young-adults, adults and families.

Waldorf Family NetworkA grassroots community service project serving individuals, families, and groups in New England inspired by Waldorf Education.

Whole Children Based out of Hadley, MA, WC is a grassroots organization founded and run by parents of children with special needs. The center offers a wide range of homeschool, after-school, weekend and vacation enrichment programs/classes. These classes are for children of all abilities, and are specially designed to accomodate children with special needs and circumstances.

Wind Farm (Pre-K – 3rd Grade) Activities that explore wind and movement in storybooks and poems and the creation of windy works of art. (4th – 8th Grade) Activities that examine many facets of the wind: wind as an energy source, as an inspiration for artist, and as the the subject of writers. – North Adams, MA.

Word Street – Word Street is a drop-in tutoring and literary arts center, located in downtown Pittsfield, Massachusetts at 163 North Street. Their mission is to provide a supplemental educational environment that encourages the creativity and enhances the reading and writing skills of learners in Pittsfield and Berkshire County, Massachusetts.

Wonder Worlds (Pre-K – 1st Grade) Activities will examine simple patterns found in the around us. (2nd – 5th Grade) Activities examine patterns and relationships that exist in nature and art, as well as in language, maps, and daily life experiences. – North Adams, MA.

EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS & RESOURCES (ON-LINE & NATIONAL)

Alternative Education Resource Organization AERO is a non-profit organization founded in 1989 to advance learner-centered approaches to education. AERO’s mission is: “…providing resources which support self-determination in learning and the natural genius in everyone.” Towards this end, AERO provides information, resources and guidance to families, schools and organizations regarding their educational choices. AERO disseminates information, both nationally and internationally, on topics such as: home schooling, public and private alternative schools, and charter schools. AERO’s long-term goal is to become a more effective catalyst for educational change by providing books, magazines, online services, consultations, support groups, and organizational information and seminars in the field of alternative education.

Aplusmath An on-line resource developed to help students improve their math skills interactively.

Ask for Kids A fast, easy and kid-friendly way for kids to search on-line. Designed to be a fun destination site focused on learning and “edu-tainment,” Ask for Kids uses natural-language technology that allows kids to ask questions and perform web searches.

Buddhist Studies A gradual training course in Buddhism for primary and secondary students, on-line. This project is designed at four levels: three for students, one for teachers.

Center for Innovation in Mathematics Teaching The center is a focus for research and curriculum development in mathematics teaching and learning, with the aim of unifying and enhancing mathematical progress in schools and colleges. This link will bring you to their on-line Mathematics Enhancement Program (Primary Extension) resource page.

Cities Around the World
This on-line site presents over 6,100 photographic images [of over 450 cities worldwide] from the slide collections of the American Geographical Society Library.

Foreign LanguagesA multi-language picture dictionary, including braille and sign language. Each word is used in a meaningful example sentence. Most entries have links to a related web site.

Georgraphy – Cities Around the World “presents over 6,100 photographic images [of over 450 cities worldwide] from the slide collections of the American Geographical Society Library.” Harrison Forman and Harold Mayer took the photographs between 1942 and 1994. Subjects include city life, architecture, neighborhoods, transportation, and business districts. Searchable, or browsable by country or city. From the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries. (LII)

Homeschooling ResourceHEFS is an organization that assists parents and families with the exploration of choices available to education at home.

National Center for Fair & Open Testing The National Center for Fair & Open Testing (FairTest) works to end the misuses and flaws of standardized testing and to ensure that evaluation of students, teachers and schools is fair, open, valid and educationally beneficial.

NCES Kids Zone The NCES Kids Zone provides information to help you learn about schools; decide on a college; find a public library; engage in several games, quizzes and skill building about math, probability, graphing, and mathematicians; and to learn many interesting facts about education.

National Center for Education Statistics The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), located within the U.S. Department of Education and the Institute of Education Sciences, is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education.

Nature (PBS) – For Teachers NATURE presents wildlife in unique situations that raise challenging questions in both natural science and environmental protection. These questions can bring to light different viewpoints as well as inspire further inquiry. An ideal way for students to explore these questions is through problem-based learning (PBL), an approach that is integrated in several of NATURE’s lesson plans.

Neuroscience for KidsOn-line resource for students and teachers to learn about the nervous system. Discover the brain, spinal cord, neurons and the senses, with experiments, activities and games to learn more. Links to other web sites too.

On-Line Montessori Teacher Albums [AGES 6 & UNDER] For a long time, Montessori Teacher Albums are used by many Montessori educators as a mean of refining their teaching skills. These so-called “Teacher Albums” contain all the detailed information on the setup, procedures, aims, variations, extensions, as well as teaching notes of an arbitrary activity. Before conducting an activity, Montessori educators are encouraged to review their Albums to ensure an accurate and correct presentation. After an activity, reminders and notes should also be wrote on the Albums to improve teaching techniques. Due to the importance of the Teacher Albums, Montessori educators are also encouraged to update new materials into their Albums to enrich their teaching contents. These Albums contains 240 developmentally appropriate activities for 3-to-6 year old children.

SchoolandState.org An on-line resource for homeschooling families and interested families. The Alliance for the Separation of School & State has a two-fold mission: (1) Show people how the government wrested control of education from citizens and why it is so detrimental to freedom. (2) Show parents and others how they can take back their freedom and ensure a bright future for their children and our country.

ScienceResearch.com This site is “a free, publicly available web portal allowing access to numerous scientific journals and public science databases.” Search for materials in the topics of astronomy, biology, chemistry, computers, environmental sciences, engineering, health and medicine, materials science, mathematics, physics, and social sciences. Also includes links to related sites. From a software company. (LII)

Sen Teacher An on-line resource with a selection of printable worksheets, handouts and teaching aids most of which can be customised to suit a range of learners.

Songs for Teaching A definitive on-line source for educational music. Creative teachers can use music to teach content across the curriculum — to students of all ages. A host of educational experts brings you tested ideas for using the magic of music in your lesson plans. This site contains thousands of pages for you to peruse — many with lyrics, sound clips, and teaching suggestions. The top educational pros offer practical suggestions based on the latest in brain-based learning. Innovative teachers share their classroom pointers and extension activities using children’s music. Songs from a wide variety of popular artists are presented by academic subject. See their website to find educational music and children’s songs that complement lesson plans.

Spelling Time A spelling tutorial for children K-5th grade. It is an interactive, online program that supports the process of independent learning. It is free but requires registration.

Study Buddy Homework help is only a click away! Enter a question in StudyBuddy search and find all the homework answers you need. Choose your grade level and browse through thousands of articles on hundreds of topics, all designed to help with your homework. Assignments don’t have to be a chore anymore — use StudyBuddy to get homework help.

Stoneleigh-Burnham School is an academic community with an international perspective that inspires girls grades 7-12 to pursue meaningful lives based on honor, respect, and intellectual curiosity. Each student is challenged to discover her best self and graduate with the confidence to think independently and act ethically, secure in the knowledge that her voice will be heard. Stoneleigh-Burnham is the first and only girls’ school in New England to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program. http://www.sbschool.org

Hey parents,
I wasn’t sure where to post this but just wanted other hill town families to know about this ‘hidden gem’. After trying two other preschools and feeling self-doubt and frustrated with misaligned values and goals, my 4 year old son began attending Pine Brook Children’s Center (formerly Mountain Brook) last fall. This is a very special place that welcomes, celebrates, and nurtures curious, spirited, nature loving, independent, and carefree children. My family is so grateful to have found this school and although it is a 20 minute drive for us each way, it is worth it for us to know that he is accepted for the sweet but sometimes wild kid he is! If you read and found yourself nodding in agreement to Richard Louv’s, Last Child in the Woods, then this is the school for your child/family!

Parenting (wrangling?) a young nature/farm boy (or girl) is not always easy. But “all boy” does not mean “all bad”. If you are feeling like the program your child currently attends is not meeting his or her needs to move, get outside, think creatively, work problems out with peers, let loose his/her individual spirit, and just be who s/he is, please check this place out. They still have a few openings for children ages 3.8 through 6.5 (prek and K) for fall 2012. And feel free to email me with any questions.

Serena said,

Teaching Creatures is based out of Belchertown and offers programs about animal biology and natural history with live animals to schools, libraries, home schoolers, scout groups, senior centers, museums and more.

Baby sign language has a lot of benefits. Most importantly doing baby signs is a lot of fun and helps you bond with your baby. Baby signs also decrease fussiness, because baby can tell you what she wants instead of crying. Research also shows that babies that do baby sign language get a great start in life – with bigger vocabularies and more advanced cognitive skills even years after they have stopped signing.

WGBY’s Video Lending Library provides western Massachusetts educators with a comprehensive selection of over 1400 video titles to borrow, FREE. The video collection covers a wide range of subjects and represents programs from such popular PBS series as: NOVA, American Experience, Reading Rainbow and other producers such as NASA and the Annenberg Math Libraries. Educators in Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin and Berkshire Counties can borrow up to three tapes at any one time for a three-week period.

Boys’ and Girls’ Club of Pittsfield Launches New, Dynamic Web Presence
New site and social networking connect the club with the community, and beyond

The Boys’ and Girls’ Club of Pittsfield has just unveiled its new Web presence, which includes a completely redesigned website with a number of interactive features as well as a strong foray into popular social networks like Twitter and Facebook.

Peter Bell, executive director of the Boys’ and Girls’ Club, said the upgrades were made to place relevant, timely information about the club at the public’s fingertips – now, club members, parents, alumni, and Berkshire County residents at large can access everything from schedules to permission slips, not to mention read frequently updated news about the club and its programs, from one easily navigable spot.

“For years, we’ve had so much going on at the club and at Camp Russell that it’s been difficult to let the community know just how much we actually offer,” said Bell. “We are also in the midst of an exciting time, unrolling new programs such as a Youth of the Year Reunion and planning future upgrades to the club. Our new site has become the hub of all of this information.”

Adding to the draw of the site, however, will be regularly rotating Featured Member, Alumni, and Program profiles. The site’s first Featured Alumnus, for instance, is Pittsfield native Tom Grieve, former Major League Baseball player, general manager, and current analyst for the Texas Rangers. Grieve says he credits the club with giving him many of his favorite childhood memories.

“The Boys’ [and Girls’] Club was my home away from home,” he says. “I loved everything about it…to me, it was Camp Russell, dances at the old armory, Pee-Wee basketball, ping-pong, and Friday night movies. It’s where I met my two best friends.”

Similarly, the club’s first Featured Member, Pittsfield High School student Anna Murphy, 16, says she enjoys being at the club in part because of its easygoing atmosphere.

“It’s a low-pressure place where you can just be who you are,” says Murphy, who has been on the club’s swim team since she the fourth grade and today serves as a pool lifeguard and swim teacher in addition to swimming competitively for the club.

Taking the lead in Featured Programs is the Recreational Therapy division at the Boys’ and Girls’ Club, which provides tailored activities for members with physical or mental challenges, ranging from informal gatherings at the club to summer-long programs at Camp Russell. Both the club and the camp are completely handicapped-accessible to make this programming possible, but the Recreational Therapy program also offers transitional and vocational services help kids learn social skills and support endeavors outside of the club’s four walls, including at school or work.

The new website also includes:
• An interactive form alumni can use to reconnect with the club;
• The Seed Weekly, the Boys’ and Girls’ Club Children Center’s update page and newsletter;
• A dynamic News Section that includes feature articles on the club, photos, and frequently updated press releases;
• A community impact fact sheet;
• Online donation information;
• Downloadable forms for parents and members, including Camp Russell registrations;
• Testimonials written by some of the region’s most recognizable figures, including Pittsfield Mayor James Ruberto and Chief of Police Mike Wynn. New faces will be added to the site regularly.

==========
About Boys’ & Girls’ Club of Pittsfield
The Boys’ & Girls’ Club of Pittsfield, Mass. has been in operation for more than a century. A long-term investor in the community, the club focuses on the needs of children of all ages in a diverse, urban area, and offers a number of and community involvement programs in addition to sports, vocational, and recreational opportunities. For more information, visit http://www.boysandgirlsclubofpittsfield.org or call (413) 448-8258.

I also wanted to invite area homeschoolers to the Pioneer Valley Homeschool Group web site : http://www.pvhg.net. There is a large community of homeschoolers there, from the hilltowns all the way to Shutesbury and from Northfield to Springfield. There are many ongoing activities posted, as well as a discussion forum where we offer each other ideas and support.

Note that the site is meant only for homeschoolers (or prospective homeschoolers) in our area. If that’s you, contact us on the site and we’ll get you a password.

If you’re not a homeschooler but have a class or workshop you’d like to offer to homeschoolers, please contact any homeschooler (or through the site), and we’ll post it for you.

The Hartsbrook School, A Waldorf School in the Pioneer Valley for ages Infant through High School currently has openings in our Early Childhood Programs:
Nursery: ages 3-5; 3 or 5 mornings; 3 or 5 whole days available.
Kindergarten: ages 4-6; 5 mornings or 4/5 whole days available.

In both programs we provide rich exposure to language and culture through stories and songs. The children explore social interactions through imaginative play and practical activitiy. There is a healthy mixture of activie pursuits such as circle games and outdoor play with more receptive, quiet activities such as coloring painting and baking. In Kindergarten, children will also be able to take long walks in nature and visit the farm animals and gardens.
For more information, please contact us through our website or call, 584-3198.

WEBSITE ON THE FUTURE OF GATEWAY ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS: Parents of students in Gateway elementary schools have a new resource for information as the district grapples with tough economic decisions and the possible closure of some schools. Click here for the website: http://www.grsd.org/general_information/EAC.htm

Teachinglearnerswithmultipleneeds.Blogspot.com
Teaching Learners with Multiple Special Needs Resources and ideas for teachers of learners with severe, profound, intensive, significant, complex or multiple special needs.

Gateway School Safety Hotline said,

GATEWAY SCHOOL SAFETY HOTLINE: As part of Gateway’s School Safety Plan, the school safety hotline (685-1050) will remain in place for the coming school year. Monitored by the district’s Security Monitor, the hotline is a voice mailbox that can be used to report harassment, drug or alcohol concerns, vandalism, and school safety issues. The purpose of the hotline is to help keep Gateway schools safe for all students.

This site is a “free federated search portal to the digital libraries of leading science and technology societies.” Use it to “search over 3 million documents, plus patents and government data” from “fifteen societies spanning 150 years of sci-tech scholarship.” Participating groups include the Acoustical Society of America, the American Geophysical Union, the American institute of Physics, the American Society of Civil Engineers, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. (LII)

FREE Parent-child early literacy activity materials available for downloading at the Washington Learning Systems website: reproducible language and early literacy activities in English and Spanish

To download materials go to http://www.walearning.com and click on the purple button that says “Free Parent Education Handouts” on the home page.

These materials include forty-six home and community activities for adults
and preschool children that encourage early language and literacy development in young children. They are appropriate for children with disabilities as well as children who are developing typically.

Each of the forty-six activities includes:
1) An activity description,
2) Hints for making the activity fun and developmentally appropriate, and
3) A brief self-evaluation form that cues parents and other caregivers to notice their children’s skills, and also cue adults to examine and grow their own interactions with their children.

The materials are specifically designed to address the three key skills of:
1) language development,
2) phonological awareness,
3) general print awareness.

The files are in PDF format to allow easy and secure downloading. Five
files for each language (Spanish and English) include:

PAWS to READ is for children who need practice reading out loud and to help them gain confidence reading. It is held on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and requires registration. Sessions are canceled when the librarian is not working.

Read to Your Little Buddy matches older readers with young children. This program is as much about mentoring as it is about practicing reading skills. None of the volunteers are professional reading teachers. Meeting times are determined by the volunteer and the parents of the younger child. The only stipulation is that all meetings must take place at the library. Registration required

Come in on Thursday mornings for great programs including storyteller Tim Van Egmond, singer – storytellers Bates & Tincknell and the Musical Petting Zoo from the Springfield Symphony Orchestra. Don’t miss out on the fun – sign up today! 413-238-5565

Create all the possibilities of the 2007 MA Summer Library Adventure with The Huntington Public Library. “Catch the Beat at Your Library” offers library events for children of all ages and their families from Monday, July 9 through August 18, 2007.

Have you heard? This is the summer to Catch the Beat at your Library! This music themed reading program encourages children to read during summer months. Research studies have shown that students who do not practice reading skills during the summer actually lose reading abilities they worked so hard to acquire during the school year. Students who don’t read over the summer are less prepared for school success in the fall.

Catch the Beat at Your Library will have kids kicking up their heels about great books, fun activities and a line up of special events that Huntington Public Library has scheduled just for them. Children will also receive incentives for reaching reading goals.

Once again the Buckland Public Library will participate in the Statewide Summer Reading program. Beginning Saturday, July 7 there will be six Saturday morning story hours with arts activities and a snack. Come to the library, get your Catch the Beat T-shirt, book marks and doorknob sign – Beat It! I’m Reading! We also have reading logs so you can keep track of books or time spent reading.

But summer reading isn’t only for children. Adults, come and check out the latest best sellers perfect for reading at the beach, or a heavier tome that is perfect for long summer afternoons. And improving too.

Collection of classroom materials focused on helping students learn how to research and examine messages and claims encountered in media and advertising. Provides lesson plans, websites recommended for research, answers to common questions about government and politics, a dictionary, and a discussion forum for teachers. From the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. [LII]
URL: http://www.factchecked.org

Did you ever wonder why a camel has a hump? If you can really tell the weather by listening to the chirp of a cricket? Or why our joints make popping sounds? These questions deal with everyday phenomena that we often take for granted, but each can be explained scientifically.

Everyday Mysteries will help you get the answers to these and many other of life’s most interesting questions through scientific inquiry. In addition, we will introduce you to the Library of Congress’ rich collections in science and technology.

All of the questions presented on this Web site were asked by researchers and answered by librarians from the Library’s Science Reference Services.

Home Education & Family Services (HEFS)
A full-time organization helping parents and families examine the wide range of choices available to educate their children at home. Our highly qualified staff of consultants and administrators has over five decades of experience with homeschooling and other forms of education.
URL: http://www.homeeducator.com/HEFS/

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Welcome to Hilltown Families, an online grassroots communication network for families living throughout the four counties of western Massachusetts. Hilltown Families believes in creating resilient and sustainable communities by developing and strengthening a sense of place in our children and citizens through community based education and engagement. We work to accomplish this by highlighting the embedded learning that is found everywhere in our communities, making the information accessible to families, and giving parents/educators access to opportunities that supports their children’s interests and education while encouraging community engagement.

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